Adjustable box form



R. A. SQUIER 1,871,283

ADJUSTABLE'BOX FORM Filed Jan. '25, 195o 2 sheets-sheet 1 l Aun v//Jvwntoz u ll Aug. 9, 1932.

11111111; lllxunlnxll;

u zu

mm 1 a z l|| Aug.; 9, 1932. R. A. SQUIER ADJUSTABLE BOX FORM '2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 25, 1930 :lll LIIC Patented Aug, 9, 1932UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE j RALPH A. SQUIER, F TIETON, WASHINGTON.ADJUSTABLE BOX FORM Application led January 23, 1936. Serial No.422,877.

This invention relates to forms for making wooden boxes, the sides andbottom of which are nailed to the ends or heads and particularly to aform of this character designed for supporting the heads in place o thatthe bottoms or side panels of the box may be accurately alined with theends of the heads without any care being taken onthe part of theoperator.

A further object is to provide means whereby the cleats of a box may beaccurately alined with the outside faces of the heads and outside edgesof the side or bottom panels without the necessity of particular care on`the part of the operator.

A further object is to provide a box form of this character havingopposed vertical supporting members, one of which is resilientlysupported so as to permit the easy insertion of the box heads andeliminate any chance of the box binding within the. form and preventingits ready removal and reinsertion in another position.A

Another object is to provide resiliently actuated head clamping memberswhich are provided with adjustable stops, limiting the inward movementof the clamping members against the box heads so as to prevent anybinding action.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description. j

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein lFigure 1 is a front elevation of abox form constructed in accordancewith my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof; Figure 3 is a section transverselyacross the box form through the middle thereof;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation of one end of the box form;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view through a box and through one endof the box form; A

Figure 6 is a detailed vertical section on the line 6 6 of Figure 2; Y

In the? drawings, I have shown my box form arranged for the formation ofa pair of boxes in order to illustrate my invention.

Referring to these drawings, 10A and 10a designate two parallelsupporting members constituting the base of the form.` These supportingmembers arev provided preferably with the angular attaching members 11whereby the form may be engaged with the bench, such a bench as is shownin my prior application, Serial No. 365,488 liled on May 23, 1929.

Rigidly attached to the member 1,0 are the rods or bolts 12 which extendtransversely across the form adjacent the bottom thereof and passthrough openings in the opposite memberl 10a, this end of the rod 12being screw-threaded at 13 and provided withk the nuts 14 whereby themember 10a on'one side may be adjusted nearer to or further from themember 10 on the opposite side.

The members 10 and 10a are preferably metallic and cast with the member10 Vor otherwise rrigidly connected thereto are the uprights 15.Associated with the member 10a are the uprights or standards 15a throughwhich the bolts 12 may pass as shown in Figure 1, though it is to beunderstoodV that the standardsvla might lbe cast withthe base members10a. Mounted upon the standards 15a is a plate 16a whose outer edge faceis beveled as best shown in Figure 2. This plate 16al is spaced from theupper face of the corresponding member 10a. Opposed to the member 16a isa corresponding plate 16 of the same form as the plate 16a. This is,carried by bolts 17 on therstandards 15, the bolts carrying the nuts18, these nuts being adjustable to limit the inward movement of theplate 16 with reference to the corresponding standards 15. a

Attachedto the member 10.by a bolt 19a and extending upward therefrom'isa preferably metallic arm 19 carrying at its upper end the coiledcompression spring 20, which bears against the. plate 16 and urges this'plate inward but permits thel plate to be moved outward against theaction of the spring. The plates 167 and 16a are shorter than themembers 10 and 10a and do not extend rearward' as far as the members 10and a. The mounting of the end plate 16 shown in Figure 2 and heretoforedescribed is an at the factory and before the box form is sent to theuser so that the plate 16 is truly vertical when the spring 26 forcesthe plate 16 inward. These four bolts, therefore, always hold the plate16 in a truly vertical position andat right angles tothe longitudinalaxis of the forni. These lock nuts merely limit the inward movement ofthe end plate 16. This inward movement of the .end plate 16 is designedfor the purpose of facilitating the turning of the box when the box isbeing constructed in case the box end is warped or untrue. The plate 16is held in place, that is,; forced inward by the spring 20 which bearsagainst the tension plate 19, this plate being held in place at itslower end by means of the nut 19a shown in Figure 4 and by rotating sonthis nut the degree of tension on the plate may be adjusted.` Thepressure on this plate 16 exerted by the spring 20 and' the tensionplate is also greater than the'pressure of the s ring 29' of the corresJonding clama 30.(

P e l s l With this construction, assuming that the "box material iswarped or untrue, then ,material to turn freely.

whenthe operator turns the box in this form, the plate 16 and the` clamp`30 will both give and allow crooked box By having the tension on spring20 greater than that of spring.A 29, this end plate 176Y will alwaysassume its proper positionas soon as the turning of the box is completedand the four point suspension of plate 16.insures an equal pressure onthe whole 4surface'of the box end. With this arrangement, a box endwhich varies in thickness, say from'two inches 'f by clamp 30. Thus allvariations in box ma-` 'thick on one side to one inch thick on theopposite side, will be held firmly against plate 16 terials will be onthe inside of the box and thus making a very true and'neat job.

Box ends are made to a large extent out o two pieces heldtogether withcorrugated fasteners driven in by machine and often these I a box endthat has two diiferent'thicknesses fasteners are not driven clear in orbent so that they interfere with the turning of the box inthe form. Inthis two piece construction,V

of the box end, it is quite common to run into of lumber and thusthereis a shoulder on the end and that gives a great deal of bother to`the box maker. Furthermore, in these box ends oftentimes, aloose nut has.worked out of place and this causes bother. In box forms known to meand in use, the end plates are oftentimes so narrow that one of theseobstructions will be below the lower edge of the end plate and thus whenthe operator goes to turn the box, this obstruction will catch on thelower edge of the end plate. In my construction, the end plates covermost of the box end and the operator is thus not bothered' with thesefaults in material and furthermore, as explained above, one of the boxends is resiliently held in position so as to compensate for diHer-entthicknesses of material.

Mounted upon the rea-r ends of the members 10 and 10a are the uprights21 and 21a.

These uprights may be cast with the members 10 and 10'd or otherwiserigidly engaged therewith. One of these uprights is shownY in detail inFigure 4. vEach upright carries upon its upper end, the plate 22 whichis cut away at 23, the inner margin of the plate being upwardly extendedas at 24.

Attached to this upward extension is a metallic bar or strip 25 which isadjustably mounted upon thel extension bar 24 by means of the bolt 26,thisbolt being adapted to pass through any one of a number ofperforations 27 in the extension and the bolt being surrounded as shownin Figure 3 by a ycoil spring 28. Preferably the extension 24 isslightly concavo-convex transversely and the bar is also slightlyconcavo-convex so as to fit within the extension 24.

It will be seen that the bar 25 may be raised or lowered or may beturned into angular relation to the extension 24. Each of the plates22is supported upon the stand-V ard or upright 21 or 21a by means ofbolts 28 which pass through any one of a number of bolt holes28a so thatthe plate 22 may be raised orlowered with reference to the correspondingupright21.

Bolted to the inner margin of each plate 22 is a spring hinge designatedgenerally 29. One leaf of this hinge is bolted to the correspondingplate 22, the other leaf of thehinge being bolted to a clamp 30, shownparticularly clearly in Figure 2. This clamp is bowed inward and isadapted to be urged againstv the inner face of the headof a box and holdthe head of the Ybox clamped firmly between the clamp 30 and thecorresponding end member l16 or 16a. The inner end of the. clamp(seevFigure 2) is shown as being provided with an outwardly extendingangular flange 31 at the butt end of the clamp and extending through theplate 22 is an adjustable stop 32 shown in detailin Figure 6 which isi-n the form of a screw. and .whoseinner end bears against theVconfronting lface of the iiange 31. By rotating this screw in one di?rection or the other, this stop formed by the screw may be adjusted tothereby adjustably limit thejinward movement' of the clamp 30.

Each plate 22 is so mounted that its outer edgeis inV alinement with theinnerface of' th-e corresponding end plate 16 or 16a and each plate 22extends slightly above the upper edge of the member 16 or 16a. The upperedge of each of the members 16 or 16u is formed with openings 33 asshown in Figure 5 which extend downward through the end member and thenlaterally outward, these openings being designed for the reception ofnails 34 passing` through a wooden cleat 35 which forms the top edge ofthe plates 16 or 16a. Vhen these. wooden cleats or facing pieces havebecome damaged, the nails 33 may be readily withdrawn and new cleats putin place. These wooden facing pieces or cleats are used upon the upperedges of the plates 16 or 16L for the purpose of prevent ing the blowsof a hammer being received directly against the metallic end plates,thus providing a cushion for the hammer and a facing piece which may bereadily7 removed when it is damagedto permit a new facing piece to beput in place. These cleats or facing pieces 35 also form guides for thecleats of the box as shown in Figure 5. f

For the purpose of permitting this box form to be used for boxes ofvarious sizes and shapes, I provide auxiliary supporting membersdesignated as 36`and 36a and shown particularly in Figures 1 and 2.These auxiliary members are each angular in cross section to provide ashoulder 3k?? and these members 36 and 36a may be either dispensedwithentirely or disposed, as illustrated in Figure 1, with the shoulders 37in vertical planes or these members may be disposed with the shoulders37 in horizontal planes and disposed beneath the lower edges of the members 16 and 16a. The auxiliary support 36L is preferably formed withrecesses or grooves 38 to receive the standards 15a when the member 36ais disposed in what may be termed a vertical position.

. The member 36, however, is not formed with any grooves but is disposedflat against the standards 15. A rod 39 or dowel has its ends insertedin openings extending through the shoulders 37, when the auxiliarysupports 36 and 36a are disposed in a horizontal plane and thisrod issurrounded by a coil spring l0 which urges the auxiliary supports 36 and36a away from each other. Each .of the auxiliary supports is also formedwith an opening 41 in the back of the support into which the ends of thedowel or rod 39 may be inserted when these auxiliary supports aredisposed in a vertical plane.

In the use of this form, the heads A of the boxes are disposed againstthe end plates 16 and 16a as shown in Figure 5 and between the end plate16al and the clamps 30. In this position of the parts, the upper edge ofthe head A is level with the upper edges of the plates 16 and 16a. Oneof the bottom f panels B is then'disposed upon the top of the heads Aand is guided into tliisvpo'sition without any special care on the partof the op- Y erator by the cleats 35 as shown in Figure 5. This bottomis forced back until it strikes the limiting bars 25 or the plates 22,the inner faces of the limiting bars being flush with the inner faces ofthe plates 22 and when the element B has been forced back against theseplates 22, the operator knows that the edge of the element B is ina-linement with the edges of the elements A.

A cleat C may then be disposed upon the top of the element B at the endsthereof as shown in Figure 5 and in putting this element C in place, theoperator forces the end of it against the upstanding portion of thecorresponding plate 22 and against the inside face of the cleat 35 andthus without any special care, the cleat Cfis alined properly with thepanel B and with the heads A.

The panel B, the cleats C, and the heads A may then be nailed togetherby nails driven through the cleats C. It will be noted that the cleat Cwill be under these circumstances above the adjacent portion of theadjacent plate 22 and the most adjacent metallic part which will besufliciently spaced from the point where the nails are to be applied asto prevent the operator from striking this part 25 with the hammer, anyaccidental blows from a hammerv being received upon the wooden cleat 35forming the upper edge facing for the plates 16 orr16a.

The above description applies to the operation of placing bottoms uponthe heads and nailing the bottoms thereto and applying sides to theheads. The end plates 16 and 16a only hold the heads in place and do notaline the sideswith the heads as they do when applying bottoms. At leastthis is the case in the formation of apple boxes as apple box heads are10i/2 inches deep by 111/2 inches wide. Therefore, when the operatorapplies the heads, he places the side on heads with one hand, pushes theside back against the parts 24 and alines the ends of the sides with theouter surfaces of the heads with the other hand. In making apple boxes,the auxiliary elements or supports 36 and 36a are not used, but theheads of the boxes vare disposed directly on the supporting members 10and 10a. The members 25 and the supporting members 36 and 36a aredesigned primarily forense in making pear boxes, a pear box head beingthe same width as the apple head but the depth of the pear head beingabout 1% inches less than eol the apple head. Therefore to make pear Imembers 36 and 36a are about 1% inches Y higher than the Vtop of ,theextension 24.

sbl

sides of the pear box to the heads, it will be necessary to shift theparts upward to meet K this requirement. I

These parts are convexed so that the springs 28 will hold the part 25 inan upright position. The attaching leaif ot the hinge 29 is adjustableupward and downward on the corresponding` plate 22 by providingapertures 29a in which the bolts for thehinge 29 may be adjusted. Thisadjustment is necessary in the making of some boxes. The plates 22 arealso adjustable up and down upon the standards 21 and 21L as shown inFigure 4:. The tension of the spring 20 is adjustable by the bolt 19:Lshown in Figure 3 which holds the metallic arm 19 in place.

This adjustable box form is so constructed that 1t is not necessarytovuse an elaboratebench to do good work on as the weight of itself issuiilcient toenable the operator to drive the nails home with the leastexertion. This form can be readily moved from place to place which isnot the case where the benchV and form are combined. Another improvementpresent in my construction which is not to my knowledge found inanyother box form is the means whereby the form is fastened down to thebench. Most of the forms are fastened on all four corners while I simplyuse two brackets 11 at themiddle ot the parts 10 and 10a. By so doing,the bench to vwhich this form is fastenedl may warp quite a bit beforeit will pull'this torm'out oil shape. By

'es' the use of the auxiliary members 36 and 36,

my form may be used li'or the making of ap-4 36 or 86, this form is madeto make apple boxes and Cannery packing cases and any other boxes ofabout these dimensions.

Attention is particularly called to the means whereby I secure the rod12 to the member 10 as shown in Figure 1, this rod being permanentlyenga ged with the member 1,0 by expanding the rod and forcing therod'into the member 10 and then overturning the rod. By this means, therod cannot become loose by hammering on the bench.V Vhere lock nuts areused at opposite ends of the rods 12 for engaging the members 10 and 10aconstantly hammering on the bench will eventually loosen the lock nutsand allow the form to loose its adjustment.

My form is an open-back form, that is, the two lateral elements oi' theform are not connected above the base of the form by means of strips orlike elements and with an open-back form there is no limit to theadjustment that may be made in the length of the form, the limit onlydepending upon the length of the bolts 12.

I am awareof no other -orm Whichfhas been devised or is on the marketwhich will makemore than apple or pear boxes, whereas my form isadaptable not'only for the inaking of apple and pear boxes but to alarge number of other boxes as well.

TWhile I have illustrated certain details of construction andarrangement of parts which I think to be particularly eiiective,` I donot wish to be limited to these details as obviously many changes mightbe made therein without departing from the spirit V of the invention asdefined in the appended claims. i

I claim A 1. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal headsupports, vertical end platesf carried by the head supports, one oivsaid plates being yieldingly mounted and being resiliently urged towardthe other plate, rear vertically disposed plates carried by the supportsextending fat'right angles to the' vertical end plates, and springactuated head clamps carried by saidlast named plates and resilientlyurged toward the corresponding end plates. i

2. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,vertical end plates carried by the head supports, one of said platesbeing-yieldingly mounted and being resiliently urged toward the otherplate, rear vertically disposed plates carried by the supports extendingat right angles to the vcrtical end plates, and spring actuated headclamps carried by said last named plates and resiliently urged towardthe corresponding end plates, the plates supporting the head, clampsbeing adjustable vertically with relation to the head supports'.

3. A box'form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,vertically disposed end `plates operatively carried by the 'supports,rear vertically disposed plates operatively carried by said supports andextending at right angles to the vertical end plates, and' springactuated head clamps carried by the last named plates and resilientlyurged each toward its correspondingend plate, and adjustable meansfor'limiting the inward movement of said clamps.

4. A box -form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,vertically disposed end plates operatively carried by the supports, rearvertically disposed plates operatively carried by said supports, andspringl actuated head` clamps carried by the last named plates andresiliently urged each tolward its corresponding end plate, and adjustable means for limiting the inward movement of said clamps,includinga flange on each of the clamps and a'screw extending throughthe plates supporting the clamp and engaging said flange.'v

5. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,vertically disposed end plates carried by the supports, standardsextending upward from the rear ends of said supports, verticallydisposed rear plates adjustably mount-ed upon said standards forvertical adjustment, and spring actuated head clamps carried by the lastnamed plates and resiliently urged each toward the corresponding endplate, each of said clamps being outwardly curved at its free end.

6. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,vertically disposed end plates carried on the said supports andextending parallel therewith, the rear vertically disposed platesoperatively mounted upon said supports and constituting means limitingthe rearward movement of box heads disposed against the end plates, andwooden cleats removably disposed upon the upper edges of the end platesand extending above the adjacent end corners of the rear plates.

7. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal headsupports,standards mounted thereon, vertically disposed Vend platescarried by the standards and extending parallel to the outer edges ofsaid supports, standards extending upward from the rear ends of thesupports, rear vertically disposed plates adjustably carried upo-n saidstandards and acting to limit the inward movement of box heads disposedupon said supports and against the end plates, spring actuated headclamps mounted upon said rear plates and resiliently urged each towardits corresponding end plate, each rear plate along its inner marginbeing extended upward, a bar pivotally mounted upon the inner face ofsaid extension of each rear plate, and means frictionally holding saidbar against movement from a rotatably adjusted position.

8. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,standards mounted upon the head supports, vertically disposed end platescarried by the standards and disposed with their lower edges in spacedrelation to the upper edges of the head supports, head clamps disposedopposite each of said end plates and resiliently urged each toward itscorresponding end plate, and auxiliary head supports adapted to bemounted upon and rest on the main head supports and resilient meansurging said auxiliary supports away from each other.

9. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,standards mounted upon the head supports, vertically disposed e-ndplates carried by the standards and disposed with their lower edges inspaced relation to the upper edges of the head supports, head clampsdisposed opposite each of said end plates and resiliently urged eachtoward its corresponding end plate, and auxiliary head supports adaptedto be mounted upon and rest on the main head supports, each of theauxiliary supports being angular in cross section to provide a shoulderand each of said Vsupports being adapted to be disposed with the face ofthe shoulder either in a horizontal or a vertical position, with thesup-V ports disposed beneath the lower edges of the end plates, andresilient means urging said auxiliary supports against the standards.

10. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,standards mounted uponV the head supports, vertically disposed endplates carriedV by the standards and disposed with their lower edges inspaced relation to the upper edges of thehead supports,v.headclampsdisposed opposite each of said end plates and resiliently urged eachtoward its correspondingv end plate, and auxiliary head supports adaptedto be mounted upon and rest on the main head supports, `each oftheauxiliary supports being-angular in cross section to provide a shoulderand each of saidV supports being adapted to be disposed with the face ofthe shoulder either in a horizontal position or a vertical position,`with the supports disposed beneath the lower edges of the end plates,and resilient means urging said auxiliary supports against thestandards, and including a rod engageable in the. auxiliary supportswhen the auxiliary supports are disposed either in a horizontal or akvertical plane, and a compression spring surrounding said rod andbearing against said auxiliary supports.

11. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,standards mounted upon the head supports, vvertically disposed endplates carried by the standards and disposed with their lower edges inspaced relation to the upper edges of th-e head supports, head clampsdisposed opposite each of lsaid end plates and resiliently urged eachtoward its corresponding end plate, and auxiliary head supports adaptedto be mounted upon and rest upon the main head supports, each of theauxiliary supports being angular in cross section to provide a shoulderand each of said supports being adapted to be disposed with the face ofthe shoulder either in a horizontal position or a vertical position,with .the supports disposed beneath the lower edges of the end plates,and resilient means urging said auxiliary supports against thestandards, and including a rod engageable in the auxiliary supports whenthe auxiliary supports are disposed either in a horizontal or a verticalplane, anda compression spring surrounding said rod and bearing againstsaid auxiliary supports, one of said auxiliary supports being recessedupon its rear face to receive the corresponding standards when theauxiliary support is disposed ina vertical plane. Y

121A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,standards mounted upon the head supports, end plates carried by thestandards, andr'rods connecting said head support-s, all of said rodsbeing rigidly engaged with onevof said head supports, the opposite endsof the rods being screwthreaded and passing loosely through the otherhead support and corresponding standard and nuts on said rods engagingthe screwthreaded portions thereof and clamping against the inner faceofthe last named head .support and the outer face of the correspond-.ing standards.

' 18. A box form including parallel spaced horizontal head supports,vertical end plates carried by the head supports, one ofl said platesbeing mounted for limited rectilinear movement toward or from theopposite plate, means resiliently urging said movable plate toward orfrom the opposed end plate, rear vertically disposed Vmembers carriedbythe support, spring actuated head clamps, one carried by each of saidlast named members, and springs resiliently urging the clamps 'towardthe'fcorresponding end plates, the spring of thecorresponding clamp,being less in strength than the spring engaging the end plate.

14. vertical members extending upward Jfrom the base, an end platecarried uponY the vertical members at one end of the base, a pluralityofbolts extendingthrough. the vertical memvbers at the other end of thebase, the bolts being slidingly mounted through said members, an endplate carried bysaid bolts for f rectilinear movement toward or from thelast named end plate, a member extending up- ,Y ward from the baseexterior to the last named -Y end plate, a compression spring disposed vbetween the last named end plate and saidl member, spring actuated headclamps operatively supported from the base and disposed inward of eachof the end plates, and resiliently urgedl each towardits correspondingend plate, the spring of the clamp coacting with the movable end platebeing less in strength than the strength of the spring v y urging saidend plate inward.

15. Abox form includingtparallel spaced horizontal head supportsadjustable toward or from' each other, vertical members extending upwardfrom the head supports, vertical end plates carried directlyon the endmembers, rear vertically disposed plates extending at right angles tothe vertical end plates, and headY clamps'carried by the last namedplates and resiliently urged toward said end plates ,whereby the headsupports with the end plates and rear plates and head clamps may befreely adjusted toward or from each other.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ax my signature. l RALPH A.

A box orm including abase structure, Y

